President Zuma congratulates South Africans on economy growth

President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday congratulated the South African government, business and labour after the announcement by Statistics SA (Stats SA) that the economy grew by a seasonally adjusted 3.3 percent in the second quarter.
The growth was more than the 2.7 percent quarter which was predicted economists. Stats SA said that the unexpected growth was driven by 8.1 percent increase in manufacturing and 11.8 percent in mining and quarrying. Exports increased by 18 percent and imports were down by five percent, the Presidency said.
“The latest figures indicate that our economy is resilient and has the potential to grow even more despite the challenging domestic and global headwinds that it faces. This is very good news and gives hope to our people,” Zuma said in a statement.
“We congratulate the social partners on this achievement. The cooperation between government, business, labour and the community sector has yielded results and can only take the country further towards inclusive growth and much-needed jobs.”
Zuma said that a durable solution to the country’s economic challenges lies in consolidating the social compact between government, business and civil society.
“This is a process we are focusing our respective efforts on as we move forward.”
Government would continue to implement the National Development Plan, through the Nine Point Plan that was developed as a short-term implementation plan to reignite growth, he said.